On Sunday I started my 2 year programme as L’Oreal Id Artist along with 33 other amazing hairdressers from across the UK & Ireland. After auditioning in the summer I was selected as one of 4 to represent the whole of the South West of England (the other 3 Id Artists from the SW are all based in Cheltenham).

So without banging on again about how much of a big deal this is for me and for the whole of the team at YOKE I’ll give you the low down on what I got up to ‘up North’…

On Sunday all the new first years got together at the Leeds Academy to get to know each other in be introduced to the team from L’Oreal that would be supporting us on our journey. We then took part in an interactive workshop with the Content Creator for the brand Sherie, which was a real insight into how to make our work and brand visible. At the end of the day we were teased with the prospect of being joined by one of the top art teams in the World the following day and headed out for dinner and drinks altogether.

After a pretty tame evening (for some of us) we headed back to the Academy on Monday morning to get cracking! We were then joined by the 2nd year ID artists bringing our total up to the 70’s and the insanely talented Brooks & Brooks artistic team. Headed up by numerous nominee and this years British Hairdresser of the Year Sally Brooks, partner Jamie and the seriously respected Marlon and Grace. The first few hours consisted of a q&a with the team and then with them presenting models they had coloured and styled.

Then the challenge was set… after the team giving us their knowledge and insight into how they create ideas and concepts for their own collections and shoots we were randomly split into teams of 5 or 6. The teams were made up of both first and second years and colourists and Stylists and we were each given at random a box.

What’s inside the box?… so without knowing each other nor what was in the box our task was to use the last few hours of the day and the following morning to come up with a concept and final look based on what was in the box. The following afternoon we were expected to present our look on a blockhead with a mood-board so we needed to get on with it asap.

My team was made up of 4 colourists and 1 stylist and we were all first year ID Artists and our box consisted of rose, other flowers, twine and fruit. We spent the first hour or two just talking through the items, what the represented to us and possible creative ideas.

Then it was time for a well deserved break for the eve/ 6 bottles of gin so we headed out to a retro bowling alley to compete against each other and get to know each other better. After so many laughs I headed home at a pretty decent time (obvs I went to Yoga both mornings - I needed to check out a studio & not feel like shit! - Thanks Yoga Hero).

The Tuesday saw us head back to the academy to nail our looks and present to the Brooks & Brooks team (omfg) and the rest of the ID Artists. After! the presentations we had more time to sit and chat with the team and Sally could give us even more insight and tips on working as a team and honing our creativity

The whole weekend was an absolute blast and the most amazing opportunity to work with the most insanely talented people in the industry - from the guest artists to the other ID team members and our L’Oreal rep team.

The next part of my journey is working backstage at The Central St Martins White show (up to 100 models on a catwalk!!!!!) in December followed up with several more trips to Leeds, Manchester and London academy’s over the next 4/5 months! BOOM!

Thanks so much to our L’Oreal team (Stacey, Michael, Sherie, Gemma, Rubie and Darren) my team for the weekend (Thomas, Harriet, Jamie & Sam), all the other super friendly ID artists, The Brook & Brooks team and special mention to my new mate (we incidentally trained in the exact same Toni & guy!) who got up at ungodly hours to get coffee and head to yoga with.

A couple of months ago I was extremely lucky to be asked to be involved in an inspirational campaign for PCA.

My small part was to make the 13 models feel like their best versions of themselves in front of the camera with a little hair and makeup over the course of 2 days.

Here’s a little lowdown from Kat at PCA about the new campaign…

“Our new campaign features thirteen current students, recent graduates and alumni, each with their own compelling story to tell

From a film student campaigning for change in Northern Ireland and a photography graduate documenting the power of nature in Hungary, to a graphic design student empowering black women in the creative industries, our campaign focuses on allowing each participant to broadcast their own manifesto.

We believe that high-quality education for life in contemporary arts practice is the creative catalyst for personal, professional and cultural transformation, and our manifesto includes ten propositions, written by our Principal Andrew Brewerton, that added to the themes of CREATIVE LEARNING and SOCIAL JUSTICE,define our strategic plans for the future.”

You can check out the propositions and portraits surrounding the college in the city centre now and read the whole article here…. https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/latest/blog/whats-your-proposition-behind-the-scenes

Thanks so much for the opportunity and to all of the amazing team involved!

As a small business, the recommendations and reviews we receive literally mean the world to us. We love hearing all our existing and new clients feedback and experiences at YOKE & every time we get left a review on Google or Facebook we literally do a little dance!

Just to say thanks for all the kind words and for your recommendations to your friends and family we will be randomly pick one person a month to receive a treatment and blow dry just to say thanks.

So if you have a spare 5 then please show us some love and leave us a cheeky review on Google or Facebook.

Also if you haven't been into visit us, please check out a few of our reviews below!

Last Wednesday James and I headed up to Cheltenham to audition for the prestigious L'Oreal ID Artist positions in the Midlands and the South West. The audition consisted of us both entering either as a stylist (James) and a colour technician (Jo) and presenting a mood board and a model that represented a trend or idea that we had selected.

After much planning and deliberation (and leaving YOKE with 2 completed models & buckets of coffee at 7am) we got to the Hotel Du Vin in Cheltenham for our 11am slots with the judges. The audition consisted of a skills test, in which we had 4 minutes to complete sectioning patterns or simple hair ups and then time in front of the judges to present our models with their completed looks. During this time we had to talk through our idea and how it corresponded with our models complete look as well as our technical explanation for what we did. After a pretty nerve- wracking audition we were then asked some questions by the lovely judges and then they had to give us an X Factor style judging of a ‘YES’ or a ‘NO’ each.

James went first and he auditioned as a stylist with his model Sophie and the theme ‘Water’. After 10 minutes he came out completely buzzing after receiving some amazing feedback and getting his 3 Yes’ which meant his was through to the next round!

My turn came straight after and I presented my model - another Sophie, with my theme of 70’s Opulence. I also managed to get the 3 ‘yes’ and my chance to be considered for the next round!

So we packed up and headed for lunch on our way back down to Plymouth totally thrilled for having the opportunity to audition and with the knowledge that we were both through to the next round.

The next round involved the judges selecting 1 colour technician and 1 stylist from the hairdressers that receive the 3 yes’ throughout the day, so now we had to wait the agonising 3 days to find out if we had won the places.

On Friday afternoon I received a call from L’Oreal saying that James had been absolutely amazing and that they couldn’t believe how well he had done on his first audition for anything like this and although unsuccessful this year how much they wanted to see him back next year… They then went onto say that I had been awarded the place as Colour Technician for the Midlands and the whole of the South West!!!

As such a new salon this opportunity is so huge and it’s a bit difficult to explain how much of a big deal this is for YOKE, so i’ve popped some information below about what it means to be an ID Artist…

The ID Artist programme from L’Oréal Professionnel has one goal - to find talented individuals who could be the future stars of the hairdressing industry and work with them to further develop their talent and discover their full potential.

Launched 15 years ago and always being inspired by fashion, L’Oréal Professionnel has helped to develop hundreds of individuals and it is proven that being an ID Artist has helped propel careers. As an ID Artist Jo will be developed and mentored through world-class education from some of the leading names in the hairdressing industry.

As part of a 2 year programme as a n ID artist Jo will attend numerous inspirational education sessions and unique hairdressing opportunities which includes the latest cut, session and colour techniques from some of the best in the industry. Jo will also receive insight into seasonal collections, product previews and the chance to be involved in some huge events.

The ID Artist alumni consists of some of the biggest hairdressers in the world including the infamous Sophie Hilton from Not Another Salon...“The ID Artist programme was my entry to the industry. There are times when you just don’t know where to turn to get the career you want. ID Artist moulds you, educates you and allows you to start a new life”

Last week Sarah Brittain Edwards popped into YOKE to take our photos so that we were all a little more matchy, matchy on the old website & we could ditch our old selfies. I must say that when we were building our website it was literally impossible to find any photos of each of us without a beer, glass of wine a G&T in hand - does anyone else have this issue?

After meeting Sarah at The Outfit Exchange in Ocean Studios a few months ago and working on a shoot together (which will be appearing in Devon Life magazine in September), I knew she was super chilled and would have us all feeling comfortable behind the camera.

Sarah popped along to the salon and set up the most flattering pink backdrop and lights and it took just over an hour for her to capture everyone so perfectly. We literally couldn't be happier with the images and the whole experience - and i'm pretty sure that before this we all hated getting our photos taken.

Thanks so much Sarah - you are so talented and bloody lovely. For a bit more info about Sarah and her photography check out her website or pop her an email to ask about events and corporate images.

Oh and check out our 'Meet the team' page to see our faves and below for our funniest outtakes (sorry guys).

Today we received a pretty special parcel from one of my favourite companies - Sol Cups.

I met Bec that started Sol Cups just after I first moved to Sydney a few years ago, as she was a trainer in one of my local gyms. We sat and had a chat in the sun after one of her particularly evil classes and she told me all about her exciting start up creating hand blown glass reusable coffee cups. After following Sol Cups brand new insta page and moving onto a different gym (everyone's a total gym slut in Sydney) I starting seeing the beautiful cups in all my fave coffee spots and couldn't help but invest in a mauve one & since that moment it has gone everywhere with me.

I just loved my Sol Cup and Bec's enthusiasm for making a change and the whole brand ethos so much that I wanted YOKE to be one of the first stockists for Sol Cups in the UK. We are currently stocking 8 different colours in the 8oz (flat white size) but if you wanted a different size or colour please let us know.

Sol Cups are designed in Bondi and made from hand blown durable glass lightweight and 100% chemical free, as well as being microwave and dishwasher safe.

This is why no one should be using a disposable takeaway cup any more - basically if you haven't got a reuseable cup or time to sit down and enjoy your coffee, don't have one!

"Unfortunately, disposable coffee cups with a film of polyethylene are not recyclable and release methane gas when sent to landfill. We designed Sol Cups to help people move from a throwaway mindset to a more environmentally supportive one, so we can all be kind to the world around us. They’re portable, convenient, aesthetically pleasing, and infinitely reusable."

This little quote pretty much sums up Sol Cups ethos... "We are for ending waste and embracing taste. Happy, healthy, sustainable and beautiful, we’ve designed our hand blown glass cups using materials that keep the heat in and the nasties out."

Pop in and check out our beautiful Sol Cups and cut down on your single use plastic & you'll even save some dollar each time you use it as loads of cafes will give you a discount for using it.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a course at L'Oreal, London that was exclusively for L'Oreal Colour Experts with the unstoppable Sophia Hilton from Not Another Salon and her highly skilled team: Harriet Stokes and Lucy. It was so great to be back in the L'Oreal building in Hammersmith, that I spent so much time in whilst working in Cheltenham and as a L'Oreal ID artist many moons ago.

The course consisted of the Harriet and Sophia demo-ing some of their unique techniques - from backwash balyage to their flawless 'bleed' method that Not Another Salon is so famous for.

As well as all of the inspirational demos and hands on practical we also spent the majority of the afternoon touching on the 'unreal expectations' that our clients might have in what is fundamentally an 'instagram era'. As a group we discussed the difficulties we have found with clients wanting un-achievable looks that may not suit them and also significantly damage their hair to the point of no return. As a colourist and salon owner the condition of hair comes above everything else we do at YOKE, so it was refreshing to have my own thoughts & methods backed up as well as understanding the psychology behind addressing expectations during a consultation.

Although personally I love instagram and use it for so much of my own creative inspiration, it can also make our jobs as hairdressers even more difficult when we are competing with heavily filtered images and 'demos' that to be honest just aren't real!

Living in such a celebrity driven era we are so used to seeing celebs jump from blonde to black - to long to short - to red to platinum. All we see are the instant changes and not the real life timeline of what their hair actually goes through. Therefore we are always missing out on the unavoidable bob length ginger stage and just seeing the final colour or a full head of beautiful hair extensions (and sometimes even a wig).

Even the queen of colour change & Olaplex ambassador Kim Kardashian was caught on video saying her hair felt 'gummy' when she last had it bleached - yer Kim... that's because you've effing well bleached it to death and it's lost all elasticity & it's snapping off!

At one point in the afternoon Sophia acted out a consultation with her N.A.S newbie assistant Lucy (who is actually an ex-West End actress) so we could understand more of the psychology behind what people say they want and possibly what they mean and how this can be misconstrued.

It was so awesome to be on such an inspirational course that was both practical and creative, in such a safe environment where we were actively encouraged to come together as hairdressers rather than 'compete' against each other. This is something that Steve and I feel so passionately about as we have lots of hairdresser friends in the industry that support us and we support back - and why would we not want to be part of a bigger community?

Sophia's mantra is one that definitely resonates within our team - "Be really great at your job and be really, really nice".

Lucky for me I'm already booked to attend another of Sophia's courses held at her salon in Brick Lane in October, so i'll get the chance to learn even more of her techniques & suck up more knowledge soon!

Thanks so much to L'Oreal for hosting and Sophia Hilton, Lucy & Harriet Stokes for all the inspo- see ya soon!

Jo x

P.s we ALWAYS offer complementary indepth consultations at YOKE with all of our stylists and we bloody love talking about hair so please book in for chat soon!

As part of YOKE's mission to be conscious of the environment and the effects humans have on our planet, we have found an amazing initiative which has allowed us to donate hair.

I read an article last year about a group of environmentalists in America using human hair and fur to create booms and mats to minimise and clean up oil spills. After much hunting and emailing I managed to find a gentleman based in the UK working on the project.

"There are over 2500 oil spills a year on average. There are also over 370,000 hair salons in the US and over 200,000 pet groomers. They each cut on average two pounds (one kilo) of hair/fur per day. These fibers can be felted into mats or stuffed into recycled burlap sacks or pantyhose in order to make environmentally friendly booms and waddles which soak up oil.

Matter of Trust established the Clean Wave program to promote large-scale waste fiber recycling. Using clippings of hair from salons, fur from pet groomers, fleece and feathers from farmers, even laundry lint. we produce felted recycled fiber mats. These go to public works departments for use in storm drains. We also coordinate with emergency clean water efforts to supply stuffed sausage-shaped booms that can “sandbag” and protect coves and beaches

Matter of Trust uses hair/fur/fleece donations in several ways. Fibers are felted into mats on site or at partner felting sites or they are stuffed into sheaths such as donated nylon stockings or burlap coffee bean bags to make booms.

Mats, booms, and loose fibers are used in classroom oil spill clean up demos. Mats are used by hazmat teams in oil spill cleanups and by public works departments in storm drain cages to keep motor oil drip spills out of waterways. Booms are best for encircling spills or “sandbagging” a beach to keep sands clean.

On November 7, 2007 the cargo ship named Cosco Busan accidentally hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 gallons of Bunker C fuel. Within hours, Matter of Trust coordinated efforts with hundreds of volunteers to place booms and mats along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.

As SF locals, we were uniquely situated to work with surfers who came out by the hundreds to volunteer. They also sorted the clean-up debris materials on beach tarps. We were then able to conduct a remediation experiment to compost the oily hair waste from the Cosco Busan spill. At the Presidio National Park, we begin by treating the oily mats using oyster mushrooms donated from Fungi.com, then thermophilic composting, and finally vermiculture (worms) to turn the hazardous, bunker fuel waste into healthy compost over 18 months (see the study here). Composting is a viable alternative to conventional methods used for disposal of oil spill waste (for more information on composting visit our Global Compost Project). Haz Mat teams are legally responsible for oil spill waste disposal, which is typically incinerated or buried in lined landfills marked “hazardous waste.”

So rest in the knowledge that when you pop in for a cut, your locks are being sent off to help keep our beautiful and fragile oceans clean.

Jo x

N.B If you are a hairdresser reading this and would like some more info or the contact details for the guy we donate to please drop us an email & we will gladly help you out!

I can't really believe it been nearly 3 months since we opened the doors as YOKE!

So over the last few months we have been super busy looking after so many lovely existing and new clients, working on editorial shoots and collabs, whilst also getting to grips with all our amazing new products (ta v. much L'Oreal & GHD).

Thanks so much to everyone that has come to visit us and for all the kind words and press write ups we have received.

On Tuesday we headed up to a remote Welsh beach to do the hair for a styled shoot for the couture Bridal designer Amy Mair.

James and I went along for the hair and we took one of our faves Rebecca Searle to do the makeup and Lucy one of our favourite models we have worked with at YOKE. We managed to sneak an hour before the shoot to take a look around Barry Island, before prepping and heading to a huge beach in the middle of nowhere.

Eleanor the photographer had scoped put the most stunning location in the most beautiful light so we started shooting just after 4pm. The weather was pretty kind to us, although a little windy which meant slightly more structured hair up changes on the beach where the way to go.

I have posted lots of our BTS images below and I cannot wait to share the finished images in a few weeks.

Thanks so much to everyone, especially Amy for such a special day and probably my favourite bridal shoot ever.

A couple of weeks ago I took a trial yoga class at YOKE to see how yoga would work in the space and after a lovely class I have decided to make it a regular thing.

Classes will be running as following:

Monday Evenings 6-7 (commencing from 14th May)

Friday mornings 6.30-7.30 am (commencing from 11th May)

My classes are super small (8 people max) making it perfect for beginners and intermediates. If you'd like to know a little more about the style of yoga I teach and my background please take a look on my website - OmYogaDevon

Classes are £4 per person and you must book to secure your space. To book please pop me an email yokethesalon@gmail.com or send us a message via Facebook.

As a real sucker for detail I took my time deciding on our coffee offering at YOKE and picked local roasters Owens to do the job.

Owens is 100% ORGANIC, Fair Trade sustainably sourced coffee and roasted locally in Ivybridge.They started roasting in 2010 and from day one have insisted on using the finest, 100% organic and Fair trade beans.

I got so hooked on excellent coffee when living in Oz, that I completed my Barista training in Sydney as I was desperate to know all the secrets to making the perfect coffee.

After much deliberation at YOKE we decided that individual french press' (cafetieres) were the way to go (pod coffee machines create so much waste and single use plastic, espresso machines are too pricey for a non-coffee shop and instant was NOT an option!).

Please check out a bit more about Owens over on their website & come in and give it a try at YOKE!

On Sunday we held a mini launch party at YOKE to celebrate our opening for all the team and their families.

Olivia from The Beautiful South Photo Company came along and set up a beautiful photo booth for us to play with and capture some cool images and we were treated to amazing vegan cakes from Boston Tea Party and delicious gin from Plymouth Gin.

Thanks so much for all the help and support and for everyone that popped along!

We are super lucky to work with so many amazing creatives at YOKE - on lots of different projects. One of our most recent ones was for Molly Russell a seriously talented Makeup Artist based in the South West.

The purpose of the shoot was to create new portfolio images of Molly's work and for Molly to create some exciting new looks.

Molly is available for Make up for wedding, events and lessons in the South West and you can also book Molly to come to you at YOKE.

On Sunday the YOKE squad headed up to Cheltenham for the Western Regional semi finals for the L'Oreal Colour Trophy. Steve and I have both been involved in the Colour Trophy as part of other teams throughout our careers so it was an awesome opportunity to show the guys exactly how polished L'Oreal is when it comes to creativity and curating banging shows and live events.

L'Oreal Colour Trophy is in its 63rd year, making it the longest running live competition and undoubtedly one of the biggest and most prestigious hairdressing events of the year. The comp showcases some of the brightest hairdressing talents across the country, whilst ensuring that hairdressers nationwide are continually inspired to celebrate ‘Hair Inspired by Fashion’.

The competition is split into 4 categories: Colour Trophy Star Award, L'Oreal Mens image Award, L'Oreal Colour Trophy Award, and the L'Oreal Afro Look Award. The competitors across the Uk and N.Ireland are then split into 8 regions with semi Final events held at each of them throughout April. At these shows the winners are selected to go through to the The Grand finals in London, held in June.

The show consisted of the competitors finishing their looks live and a show curated by The RUSH art team and the L'Oreal Artists.

We have been beavering away morning, noon and night for the last 5 weeks to give the salon a brand new look and some fresh vibes & we are so very nearly there!

Our vision was to create a clean, light creative space that is easy and fluid to work in, whilst feeling spacious and chilled for all our visitors.

We have worked closely with our super talented carpenter mate Gareth - who we met when he was working on some mega mansions in Sydney, a few years ago. Gareth used beautiful light wood and minimal fixtures to tie in the natural look and feel.

Thanks so much to everyone that has helped - special thanks to Paul Thompson, Gareth from GDS & South West Signs for bringing our vision to life.